Scenes from Iraqi border town a-Qaim a day after rebels took over Syrian border crossing скачать в хорошем качестве

Scenes from Iraqi border town a-Qaim a day after rebels took over Syrian border crossing

(20 Jul 2012) More than 2,000 Iraqi troops were rushed to seal the porous desert border near Qaim, the Syrian side of which has been controlled by rebels for two days, an Iraqi general said. He said there appeared to be no Syrian forces between the border at Qaim and the nearest Syrian city, Dair al-Zawr, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) away. The area is traditionally controlled by Sunni tribes. At Qaim itself, the army sealed off the border crossing with waist-high concrete blast walls. Clusters of Iraqi soldiers could be seen at the border crossing on Friday, and plumes of black smoke billowing from the Syrian side. Iraq's government spokesman said Syrian rebels are controlling one major border crossing between the two counties, but three others remain in the hands of the Syrian regime and continue to process the fleeing migrants. The spokesman said rebels are at the crossing near the Iraqi town of Qaim, located in the Euphrates river valley 320 kilometres (200 miles) west of Baghdad. But he refuted earlier reports that rebels had seized all major border posts, and said that three others - including the desert crossing at al-Walid, the largest - remained open. Thousands of Iraqi nationals have fled by land and air from Syria over the last two days to escape an escalating civil war, officials said Friday. The UN's refugee agency said Iraqis may increasingly be targets of Syria's violence after a family of seven was gunned down in their apartment. Iraqi officials said about 1,000 had left in eight flights from Damascus, which in the last week has seen its heaviest fighting in the country's 16-month uprising. Thousands more also poured through a major land crossing to Iraq. Some 88,000 Iraqis are registered as refugees in Syria, mostly in Damascus, along with about 8,000 refugees from other countries such as Somalia and Afghanistan. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...